Quincy to pay tribute to Puppy Doe with memorial bench

Tuesday

Feb 25, 2014 at 3:15 AMFeb 25, 2014 at 3:25 AM

Earlier this month, Quincy's parks and recreations board approved a citizen-led proposal to install a Puppy Doe memorial bench at the Whitwell Street Playground, across the street from from Quincy Medical Center. The bench is expected to go up this spring and be accompanied by a dedication ceremony.

Patrick Ronan The Patriot Ledger @pronan_Ledger

QUINCY – The city has approved its first-ever memorial for an animal – a park bench for Puppy Doe.

Earlier this month, the city’s park and recreation board approved a citizen-led proposal to install a Puppy Doe memorial bench at the Whitwell Street Playground, across the street from Quincy Medical Center. The bench is expected to be put in place this spring and be accompanied by a dedication ceremony.

“There will be a lot of people there. I can guarantee it,” said Christopher Cassani, executive director of the city’s park and forestry department.

Puppy Doe is the nickname that was given to the female pit bull that police say was tortured last year in a home on Whitwell Street and then abandoned near the playground on Carrolls Lane. The dog was so severely injured that she had to be euthanized.

In the weeks and months after the dog’s death, a large memorial with stuffed animals, flowers and pictures of pets lined the fence bordering the Whitwell Street Playground. Eventually the memorial came down, and Puppy Doe supporters sought a new way to permanently pay tribute to the dog.

“This bench is from all of us,” said Diane O’Meara of Quincy, who proposed the bench along with Cheryl Wallace and other Puppy Doe supporters.

“You think it’s only you, like ‘it’s just a dog; why do I feel this way?’ But everybody feels this way.”

O’Meara said the memorial bench will be made of black granite and include an engraving of Puppy Doe’s face and a plaque with the date she was euthanized, Aug. 31, and an inscription that has yet to be finalized. Custom Monuments of Rockland is making the bench.

Cassani said the Quincy Animal Shelter will launch a fundraiser to pay for the bench, which is expected to cost between $1,500 and $3,700. Any leftover donations will benefit the shelter.